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Lunar New Year

Tết Holiday: What It Is, When It Falls and What to Eat

Tết is Vietnam’s Lunar New Year, a family-centered holiday with regional food traditions and customs. Here’s how the core 2026 dates differ from the wider event period.

By ThatPainter Team 3 min read
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Tết Nguyên Đán is Vietnamese Lunar New Year, a major holiday centered on family reunion, visiting friends and relatives, and welcoming the new lunar year. For 2026, one Vietnam Tourism guide gives the core holiday dates as February 17–20, while the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism lists related activities from February 14–22; those windows describe different scopes.

What is Tết?

Tết Nguyên Đán is Vietnam’s Lunar New Year and its most significant holiday. Vietnam’s tourism authority describes it as the country’s largest festival, marking the transition from one lunar year to the next. The holiday is associated with reunion, hope and luck.

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Family gatherings and visits to friends and relatives are central themes. Customs differ among households and across Vietnam’s regions, so no single set of practices represents every celebration.

When is Tết?

Tết follows the lunar calendar, so its dates shift from year to year; it typically falls between late January and mid-February. For 2026, the two tourism sources describe separate date ranges:

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Date range What it describes Source
February 17–20, 2026 Core Tết holiday dates given by a Vietnam Tourism guide Vietnam Tourism
February 14–22, 2026 Wider period of Lunar New Year activities, including fireworks, festivals, tours and entertainment in cities and provinces Vietnam National Authority of Tourism

These ranges are not contradictory: one gives the core holiday dates, while the other covers a broader activity period. Check the official schedule for the year you plan to visit. Vietnam’s government news portal reported a Ministry of Home Affairs notice on 2026 Lunar New Year holiday dates, but the available notice details do not establish exact statutory leave days here. For the notice reference, see Vietnam Government News.

What do Vietnamese eat during Tết?

Tết menus vary among Northern, Central and Southern Vietnam, and from family to family. A Vietnam Tourism food guide identifies bánh chưng, a square sticky rice cake, as an essential holiday dish. The guide says it is boiled for 6–8 hours; this is the guide’s reported preparation time, not a universal recipe rule.

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The same guide emphasizes regional differences rather than a single nationwide menu. A Vietnamese American community publication also names bánh chưng and bánh tét among Tết foods; the examples should not be taken as an exhaustive account of what every household serves.

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How do people observe Tết?

Reuniting and visiting

People gather with family and visit friends and relatives. When visiting someone’s home, guests may bring fruit or flowers; a tourism guide also mentions tea as a possible gift. These are options, not requirements for every visit or household.

Lì xì and other customs

A Vietnamese American community publication records lì xì, the giving of lucky money to children in red envelopes, as one Tết custom. It is a documented practice, not an instruction that every visitor should give money. Ask your host if you are unsure what is appropriate in their family.

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  • MUSIC-BASED LANGUAGE LEARNING THAT STICKS. GRAMMY-NOMINATED PRODUCTION — A bilingual sound book and music book for babies where each song plays twice to support second language acquisition baby learning. This interactive nursery rhyme book, singing book for toddlers, and audio book for babies makes Vietnamese vocabulary stick through repetition and melody.
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What should visitors keep in mind?

  • Plan around the particular year’s lunar-calendar dates, and distinguish core holiday dates from surrounding public activities.
  • Expect celebrations and food traditions to vary by region and family; treat examples as invitations to learn, not rules that apply everywhere.
  • Do not assume a household expects a particular gift or that every event runs throughout the wider activity window.
  • The cited sources do not establish business closure patterns, transport availability or fare changes, so check those details directly for your destination and dates.

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